Nikola Pilić

Nikola Pilić (27 August 1939 – 22 September 2025) was a Croatian professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia.

Nikola Pilić

Pilić at the 1975 Dutch Open
Country (sports)	Yugoslavia
Born	(1939-08-27)27 August 1939 Split, Banovina of Croatia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Died	22 September 2025(2025-09-22) (aged 86) Rijeka, Croatia
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro	1968 (amateur tour from 1960)
Retired	1978
Plays	Left-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record	270–201
Career titles	9
Highest ranking	No. 6 (1968, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1970)
French Open	F (1973)
Wimbledon	SF (1967)
US Open	QF (1973)
Professional majors
US Pro	QF (1968)
Wembley Pro	QF (1968)
French Pro	QF (1968)
Doubles
Career record	143–134 (Open era)
Career titles	6
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (1970)
French Open	4R (1969, 1976–77)
Wimbledon	F (1962)
US Open	W (1970)
Medal record Representing  Yugoslavia Tennis Mediterranean Games 1963 Naples Doubles 1963 Naples Singles Universiade 1961 Sofia Doubles 1961 Sofia Singles

Pilić was one of the Handsome Eight.^[2] Pilić was ranked world No. 6 in January 1968 and world No. 7 for 1967 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.^[1][3]

Early life

Pilić was born in Split, then in the Banovina of Croatia of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, on 27 August 1939, to Krsto Pilić and Danica Tomić-Ferić.

The youngster took up tennis during the summer of 1952.^[4] Thirteen years of age at this point, he began practicing on the Firule tennis club clay courts in parallel to studying shipbuilding at the streamlined high school in Split. Upon graduating he attempted to enrol at a community college (viša škola) in Zagreb, but due to not meeting the entrance criteria ended up in Novi Sad where he studied government administration (viša upravna škola).

Tennis career

In 1964 he won the Moscow International Championships against countryman Boro Jovanović in five sets.^[5] Pilic reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1967, beating Roy Emerson.^[6] Then open tennis arrived and Pilić was one of the Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis (WCT) group.^[7]

In 1970, Pilić won the Bristol Open or West of England Championships defeating Tom Okker in a long match, Graham Stilwell, Marty Riessen, John Newcombe in a close match, and Rod Laver in the final.

Also that season, Pilić won the men's doubles title at the US Open with his French partner Pierre Barthès by defeating the Australians John Newcombe and Rod Laver in four sets. His best singles performance at a Grand Slam tournament came in 1973 when he reached the final of the French Open, losing to Ilie Năstase in straight sets.^[8]

Pilić was the catalyst to the 1973 Wimbledon boycott. In May 1973, the Yugoslav tennis federation alleged that Pilić had refused to represent them in a Davis Cup tie against New Zealand earlier that month. Pilić denied the charge, but was suspended by the federation, and the suspension was upheld by the ILTF, albeit decreased from nine months to one month, meaning that he could not enter the Wimbledon Championships. In protest at the suspension, 81 of Pilić's fellow professionals, organized into the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and including 13 of the 16 seeds, withdrew from the 1973 Wimbledon Championships.^[9][10][11]

Post-playing

After retiring from playing tennis professionally, Pilić began coaching and became the first captain to win the Davis Cup trophy for three nations: Germany in 1988, 1989 and 1993, Croatia in 2005 and Serbia in 2010. He's been working with Serbia Davis Cup team in the adviser role since 2007, and won the Davis Cup title in 2010.

He ran a tennis academy in Oberschleißheim near Munich where he resided. Players such as Michael Stich, Novak Djokovic, Ernests Gulbis and Anastasija Sevastova developed and came through the Pilic academy.^[12]

Personal life and death

In 1970, Pilić married Serbian actress Milica "Mija" Adamović.^[13] The couple had a child in 1971, daughter Danijela.^[13] Their second child, son Niko, was born in 1975.^[14][13]

In 2020, he was awarded the Golden Medal of Merits of Republic of Serbia.^[15]

Pilić died in Rijeka, Croatia, on 22 September 2025, at the age of 86.^[16][17][18]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1973	French Open	Clay	Ilie Năstase	3–6, 3–6, 0–6

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1962	Wimbledon	Grass	Boro Jovanović	Bob Hewitt Fred Stolle	2–6, 7–5, 2–6, 4–6
Win	1970	US Open	Grass	Pierre Barthès	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	SR
Australian Open	A	A	2R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	3R	2R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 3
French Open	A	4R	2R	3R	4R	3R	A	A	A	2R	A	1R	A	F	A	3R	A	1R		2R	0 / 11
Wimbledon	2R	3R	2R	1R	2R	A	1R	SF	1R	1R	2R	3R	A	A	3R	1R	4R	3R		A	0 / 15
US Open	A	A	1R	A	A	1R	A	3R	4R	3R	4R	4R	4R	QF	A	A	A	A		A	0 / 9
Strike rate	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 2		0 / 1	0 / 38

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.